Holderness, n.h.
Frederick recruited kid sister Ellie Frederick to the catcher position and persuaded the freshman to begin practicing with her early this spring. The pair has helped place the top-seeded Lakers on the verge of another undefeated season, their most recent gem coming in a 12-0, mercy-rule win over No. 5 Moultonborough in Wednesday’s NHIAA Division IV semifinal at Plymouth State University.
Occasionally shaking off her sister’s suggestions — shaking her head at pitch calls or even to correct Ellie’s mitt position — Katie Frederick gave up just one hit in five innings and struck out nine with two walks and a hit batsman during the 10th shutout of the season for Sunapee (18-0).
From her perch at second base, another Frederick, Katie’s twin sister, Meggy, has had a good view observing the way her siblings’ relationship has developed from circle to plate.
“It wasn’t always the smoothest dynamic between them,” Meggy Frederick said. “I’m not going to say Ellie fit right in where Lexie left off; it was definitely a learning process. But they’ve gotten a lot better as the season has gone one.”
Ellie Frederick admittedly struggled through Sunapee’s first couple games, but finally got comfortable during the Lakers’ 8-4 win at Derryfield in mid-April.
“I basically just wasn’t catching the ball well,” Ellie said after Wednesday night’s win. “Katie has definitely helped me make adjustments.”
Katie Frederick also delivered at the plate on Wednesday, going 2-for-3 with three runs scored and an RBI.
Senior first baseman Jessica Parsons went 3-for-4 with three runs and three RBIs, Kalleigh Durkee was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI and No. 9 hitter Tess Palin went 2-for-2 as the Lakers produced against a platoon of Panthers’ pitchers.
Starter Jill Tatro (2⅔-plus innings, five hits, five runs, one earned run, one walk) left and re-entered twice for freshman reliever Allison Taylor (2⅓ innings, four hits, five runs, three earned runs, one walk, strikeout), a new strategy for Moultonborough (15-4).
Taylor replaced Tatro in the first inning after just two batters, only for Tatro to start the second.
“We knew they had good 3-4-5 hitters, and we were just trying to keep them off balance,” Panthers coach Tom Dawson said. “It’s not something we usually do, but we wanted to try something different against these guys.”
Sunapee’s bats were effective against both hurlers early, seizing a 7-0 lead after two innings.
The Lakers took advantage of four Moultonborough errors in the first two frames and received RBI hits from Katie Frederick, Durkee and Parsons.
All four Panther errors came in the infield, and outfielders Maddy Richardson and Carlee Morgan collided on Durkee’s hit that scored Katie Frederick and Faith Larpenter to make it 7-0.
“We’ve actually been a really strong defensive team this year, but not tonight,” said Dawson, whose team finished with six miscues to one for Sunapee. “That was our undoing.”
Sunapee added three in the fourth inning off of Taylor, Parsons plunking a bloop RBI single to again score Katie Frederick, Parsons scoring on Durkee’s single and Durkee coming home on a groundout against Tatro by Elizabeth Bennett.
Sunapee ended the game via the 12-run mercy rule in the bottom of the sixth when Parsons (single) scored on a Tatro throwing error and Durkee (fielder’s choice) came in on Hannah Cooney’s one-out single.
“It was good to see the bats come alive, because we were stuck inside again the last two days,” Sunapee coach Bonnie Cruz said. “I believe we’ve actually only had five practices outside all season.”
Extra Bases: Cooney (one hit, one walk) pitched the sixth for Sunapee, striking out two straight after Moultonborough put runners on second and third with one out. … Panthers freshman right fielder Lauren Shipp made a diving catch to rob Bennett of a hit in the second inning. … Sunapee’s 8-4 April win against Derryfield in Manchester and its 5-1 win over the Cougars last month in Sunapee were two of just three wins for the Lakers this season by fewer than 10 runs. … Saturday’s first pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3225.